The Secrets of Friends
by Fallen Crest
Summary: AU. What if Remus was never a werewolf, and instead it was his dad? What if the Lupins, Potters, and Blacks were all connected before Hogwarts? What if Peter never made it to Gryffindor? This is their new lives that exist because of a few changes. How will it turn out this time around?
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**The Secrets of Friends**

**Chapter 1: Introduction **

He was a part of one the most influential families in the Ministry. In fact, he was the oldest male heir of the family. His family name was Black. The Blacks had a lot of power in the Ministry, which they used to their advantage. Even so, not everyone in the Ministry or the Wizard world like them. There were rumors that the Blacks were involved with the Dark Arts. Some people dispelled those thoughts and befriended the Blacks, not knowing the truth of what they were involved in. Though, there were some involved with the Blacks just for the purpose of the Dark Arts because they knew the truth of the family.

The Blacks were a Pure-blood family. And they were proud, extremely proud, of that fact. They would venomously refuse to be blood-traitors. It made sense since they hated Muggles and Muggle-borns. To them, Muggle-borns didn't deserve to learn magic. They brought this up whenever they could at the Ministry. It seemed they were hoping that Muggle-borns would no longer be allowed to learn magic and tried to point out all the mistakes that Muggle-borns made. They were so polite about it too so no one saw how much they hated Muggle-borns. In the privacy of their homes or wherever they wouldn't be overheard, they would insult Muggle-borns, even going as far as to call them _Mudbloods_.

It was disgusting. He couldn't believe he was the heir to such a horrible family. There were only two people in his family who were decent, Andromeda Black and Alphard Black. All the others loved the Dark Arts and hated Muggle-borns. Even his little brother sort of agreed with them. He hoped that Regulus would understand they were wrong one day.

Sirius Orion Black, the oldest male heir of the Black family, sneered at the thought of his family. In just a few years it would be his first year at Hogwarts. He couldn't wait for it because it meant he could escape from his family and their insults to those Muggle-borns who have done nothing wrong. His whole family has only ever been in Slytherin. That is what Sirius was dreading the most. He hated his family and wanted to rebel against all their beliefs because he had his own beliefs so he was desperately hoping to be in a different house than them. That would mark the beginning of a change and show to his parents, Orion and Walburga Black, that he was serious about not accepting them or their beliefs.

***Secrets of Friends***

They were a well off family. Their family was not as rich as families like the Blacks or Potters, but his parents had good jobs at the ministry. Maria and John Lupin were wonderful Aurors. They were both very dedicated to their job and family. They were some of the best Aurors around. In fact, John was the one who led the mission in arresting Fenrir Greyback.

The Lupin name was known. There weren't influential like the Potters or Blacks, but many people thought the opinion of the Lupins was important. It was probably because they were famed and strong Aurors.

They were all perfectly content with their peaceful life in their two story house in a small town that was a mix of wizards and muggles. Behind their house was a forest that the little eight year old boy of the Lupins liked to wonder in. Of course, he didn't go too far into it as he was too young to be out of his parents' sight for long. They would worry too much if he disappeared into the forest so he stayed where they could see him in the forest from the house.

The son of John and Maria Lupin was Remus John Lupin. He was their sweet pride and joy. Remus was a kind and sweet boy that always obeyed all the rules. Even being like that, there was a side to him that not many saw. This side was his temper. It took a lot to anger him unless one knew what he hated most of all, and that was prejudice. He hated all types of prejudice. It could be prejudice towards muggle-borns by purebloods or the hatred people felt for werewolves. Anything it was, it would raise his anger, and it was never a pretty sight. John couldn't imagine how it would be in the future when his son was a wand-wielder and got angry over prejudice. Besides all that, he was an extremely smart boy that loved to read.

They were a happy family with enough money to be considered a middle-class, almost upper-class, family. Nothing could possibly go wrong in their eyes. The parents were watching their son grow up with so much love and adoration. Both were eagerly waiting for the day when little Remus would get his Hogwarts letter and they could see him off at Platform 9 and ¾. It was a sad day, but also one full of pride. They really wanted to know everything about his life at Hogwarts, what house he would be in, who his friends would be, how he did in his classes, and so much more. It was something they were eagerly waiting for.

Though, that happy life they felt would not last long because the past came back to haunt them.

The werewolf John Lupin led a mission against to capture, Fenrir Greyback, broke free when he was being transported to the Ministry of Magic for his trial and sent a letter to John telling him he would get revenge against him for arresting him. It didn't take a genius to realize what he meant by that. Greyback had a knack for attacking the kids of parents who offended him. He was coming for Remus, but John and Maria would allow no harm to come upon their child.

***Secrets of Friends***

The Potters were an amazing, rich, and powerful family. Charlus Potter was the current head of the Auror Department at the Ministry and his wife, Dorea Potter, was an accomplished healer. Dorea was a Black before they got married. The Potters were considered blood-traitors, but that didn't stop Dorea from marrying him. She had a strained relationship with her family for it, but they still _managed _to keep in contact somehow.

The couple had one son, James Charlus Potter. He was a bright young boy that listened to anything his parents said. They were both to be respected, after all. Neither Charlus nor Dorea could scold him for them though even he ever did anything wrong. They thought anything he did was fabulous. He was, after all, their only child, and being that both of them were old, they couldn't have another one.

The life of the Potters was great with their steady jobs, having a lot of money without the jobs (though they had the jobs because they loved what they did), and having a wonderful son.

There was just one thing missing in little James Potter life, and that thing was friends.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	2. Chapter 2: The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for those who reviewed, favorite, and alerted. **

**The Secrets of Friends **

**Chapter 2: The Meeting **

A bored eight year old boy with messy black hair that stuck up in all directions, despite how hard he tried to tame it, and bright hazel eyes that were behind a pair of circle glasses tugged at the collar of the dress robe his mother had forced him into. She was having a dinner party tonight so he needed to be clean and dressed appropriately.

Apparently his father had invited two wonderful and famed Aurors over for dinner and his mother invited her niece and her family over. Though, there were difficulties with her family, Walburga accepted the invited because the Potters had some power in the Ministry. Maybe she was hoping to convince Dorea and Charlus of something. It got even better for Walburga when she heard the two Aurors joining them were John and Maria Lupin. If she could convince all four at once, it would be even better.

"Do I really have to wear this, Mother? It is so uncomfortable." James asked tugging more fiercely at his collar.

"Yes, James. Maria and John are both respected Aurors and we have to show my dear niece and her family that I have a good family." Dorea explained, slapping James's hand away to readjust the collar. "Now behave. They were be here soon."

Sighing, James resigned himself to an extremely boring dinner that would last for hours on end and he would be forced to sit at that table listening to boring conversations with a stiff back as he attempted to keep from slouching. How bothersome and boring.

When the fireplace flared with life, James sighed and stood in front of his parents as he watched as a tall, dark haired lady came through. His first thought when he saw her dark eyes that scanned over everything was that she was not someone to be messed with. She looked like a horrible person as she stuck her nose up in the air after seeing the room. He wondered what her problem was. The living room looked perfectly fine to him. It was clean, big, and had some expensive stuff in it so he had no idea of what her problem was.

Following her was a tall man, and then to James's surprise, but pleasure, a boy that looked about his age. He wouldn't be alone then!

Like his parents, the boy had the charming good looks that must be a trait of their family. He was a bit taller than James, but not by much. His black hair was combed neatly, obvious more tamable than his own hair. It was curly and went down to below his ears. Unlike his parents though, the boy's grey eyes shined with kindness and amusement. He smiled at James and his parents, while his parents scowled. It seemed the boy was nicer than his parents.

"And where is your second son?" Dorea asked kindly. "I believe his name was Regulus."

"He has come down with a terrible cold so he will not be coming." Walburga answered shortly. "Are the Lupins here yet?"

Dorea smiled. "Not yet. I expect they will be here within the next few minutes." She looked down at her son. "James, these are the Blacks. This is Walburga Black, my niece, Orion Black, her husband, and their eldest son, Sirius Black. He is your age so you two will be going to Hogwarts together in three years."

James's eyes lit up with excitement. He looked back to the Blacks and gave them a short bow. "It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Black, Mr. Black, and Sirius."

Walburga sniffed disdainfully. "At least you taught him manners."

Dorea let out a low huff so Walburga couldn't hear. "Thank you, Walburga."

"Sirius, this is Charlus Potter, his wife and my aunt, Dorea Potter, and their son, James Potter, who you heard that you will be going to Hogwarts with." Walburga explained to her son.

Like James, Sirius gave a short bow to the family before him. "It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter, Mr. Potter, and James." He mocked James.

Just as he finished, the fireplace flared to life with green fire once again and a man with kind amber eyes that were filled with mirth, a nice smile, and short brown hair stepped out of it. "Ah, I see we are the last ones here!" He said cheerfully with a bit of a chuckle in them.

"Ah, John!" Charlus greeted just as the fireplace flared to life once more and a beautiful, but short woman came through. She had long amber hair that was tied back into a ponytail. Her crystal blue eyes were filled with kindness and a bit of laughter at something. She smiled at James's parents before she looked down at him with a smile.

"Maria, it's very nice to see you. What has got you two so amused?" Dorea asked curiously.

Maria didn't answer, but she didn't have to because a moment later, the fireplace was filled with green fire again and a boy whose face and hands were covered in scratches and wearing slightly burnt dress robes came stumbling out of the fireplace. James had to smile when he noticed the boy was smaller than him. At least now his dad couldn't call him small anymore. Besides the smallness and scratches, the boy had light brown hair that was someway between long and short and bright amber eyes that were sparkled with a bit of the crystal blue that were like his mother's. It was actually really cool.

"Tell me again, Mother, why did you have to get that dratted cat when you knew, before you bought it, that it wants to kill me for no apparent reason?" The boy asked, scowling at his mother.

Maria chuckled and ruffled her son's hair. "It has a reason, Remus. You kicked it across the store!"

"That was an accident, and it should learn not to hold grudges!" Remus retorted.

His mother sighed. "How do you accidentally kick a cat, Remus? And don't call Luna an it. She is a girl cat, not a thing."

"I'll call it what I want!" Remus growled, waving his hand in the air. "Look at what she did to my face and hands! And she caused me to step into the fireplace and set my robes on fire!"

Maria rolled her eyes and turned to the Potters and Blacks. James and Sirius were unsuccessfully trying to hide their chuckles at Remus's dramatic antics. "Well, I believe introductions are in order. I am Maria Lupin. This is my husband, John Lupin." She waved to the man next to her that was watching their son in amusement. "And the dramatic one there that manages to get beat by a cat is my son, Remus."

Remus stopped talking angrily about a cat when he realized no one was listening. He turned to his mother, fire in his eyes. "Beat by a cat?" He hissed. "That thing did not beat me! It was an unprovoked ambush! I swear it knew I was going someone and needed to look nice which is why it attacked me!"

Maria sighed and rubbed her temples. "Remus, dear, Mrs. Potter here is a wonderful healer. I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll heal your scratches and maybe even fix your robe for you. I have acquaintances to make."

Remus watched in shock as his mother turned to the other family. "Not helpful, Mother." He grumbled before turning to the Potters. The boy standing in front of them was still laughing. When he saw Remus looking, he stifled his laughs enough to give him an amused grin. "Um….Mrs. Potter, could you please help me look appropriate for you dinner party since my mother has deemed me to look good for it, but I find that you may disagree."

Dorea laughed at the boy while Maria shook her head. "Dorea, I am sorry about my son. He can have a sharp, witty tongue sometimes when he is feeling brave. He is usually not like this. Perhaps, it is because someone gave him sugar." She shot her husband a glare.

"It is quite alright, Maria. Come with me, Remus, and I'll get you cleaned up." Dorea replied, holding a hand out for the boy to take.

Smiling, Remus took the woman's hand and was led out of the room.

Charlus clapped his hands. "Well, let's move this to the dining room."

James and the boy called Sirius sat at the end of table while Charlus sat at the head. On the right side of the table was an empty seat for Dorea, than Walburga and Orion. On the left side was John and Maria. Sirius sat next to his dad and James sat next to him. The sit across from him would most likely be Remus so the boys could talk. That was the way James's dad explained it since James would usually sit on Charlus's left.

"That Remus boy sure is amusing." Sirius commented to James. "I should have made a dramatic entrance like that, but my mom would have been really mad if I did."

James snickered. "Well, I don't think Remus liked it all that much. He seemed rather upset about the whole cat thing."

"His parents are cool though. They were amused by it and didn't seem to care he came here as a mess. Your parents too." Sirius said curiously. "My parents are real strict about that kind of stuff so they probably found it disgraceful."

James nodded. "I do no wrong in my parents' eyes, and it seems that Remus's are cool parents that can have a good time. I think that's how they are. My dad talks about them often. He says they are famed Aurors and are powerful. They can be real serious when on the job, but off the job, they keep their guard up, but still know how to have a good time."

"Wish my parents were cool like that. All the strictness drives me crazy." Sirius replied quietly so his parents wouldn't hear him. He needn't worry though. They were too deep in their conversation with the Lupins and Charlus.

The door to dining room was suddenly thrown open and a smiling Remus walked in with Dorea following him. She gently closed the door, said something to Remus, than moved to her seat. Now blushing, Remus came to his seat next to his mother and sat down.

"Feel better?" Maria asked amused, brushing the bangs out of Remus's eyes.

Remus nodded. Maria bowed her head and kissed Remus's forehead before turning back to her conversation with the adults. With her head turned, she didn't notice Remus scowl and wipe the salvia from his forehead. He looked up at the sound of snickering from across the table. At the sight of the two black haired boys from earlier, he raised a brow. "And you two are? I'm afraid that I was so busy with ranting to no one about that vicious cat that the introductions were never finished."

"It's alright, mate. It was really entertaining." The boy with long hair said. "I'm Sirius Black."

"And I am James Potter." The boy with glasses stated. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Charmed." Remus muttered.

"So, Remus," James started, eyes shining mischievously. "How do you accidentally kick a cat?" He shot Sirius a grin. "You know, for future reference if we ever meet a deranged cat."

Sirius howled with laughter, while Remus grumbled under his breathe.

In the end, the three eight years were allowed to leave the dining room after they ate dinner instead of being forced to sit there all night and talk. It was because the six adults could no longer handle the loud voices and laughter coming from the three. They were hitting it off quite well. The cat incident seemed to have destroyed any worries the parents had about their children not getting along.

So with being dismissed from the dining room, James led his new found friends to his bedroom, chatting the whole way. "I am really glad you two came along with your parents. I was worried I would have to seat in that room all night and listen to those people talk about work and politics and stuff. It would have been sooooo boring. My parents never mentioned that their guests were bringing kids."

"Well, my parents never told me there would be kids either." Sirius said.

"Same." Remus added from behind the two boys. His eyes took in all the pictures and antiques around the houses.

"I'm glad I have friends at long last." James added before stopping in the middle of the hallway and turning so he could see both boys. "We are friends, right?"

"Course, Jamesy." Sirius said with a grin.

James shot him a glare. "Don't call me that. It's James."

Remus hummed thoughtfully as he looked at a picture of a younger James on the wall. "How did it end up like this? We have Sirius here with a unique name that no one else will possibly have. Then you have me, Remus, with an equally unique name. And then there is James, such a common name. How many James will we possibly meet in life? So boring."

"Hey!" James snapped. "I happen to like my name, Lupin."

A grin was flashed at James. "Course, James, course you do. We're friends."

Smiling, James led his new found friends to his room. His room was big, much bigger than a kid needed. His carpet was tan and his walls were red. He had two windows facing the backyard with black curtains hanging on them. His bed was pushed against the wall, adjacent to the wall with the windows. Quidditch magazines and books were thrown upon his desk which sat in front of one of the windows. James's dresser was adjacent with the wall with windows, opposite the bed. Leaning against the wall was a broom.

"Do you fly, James?" Sirius asked excitedly. "I absolutely love flying. It is so fun to have the wind whipping at your face like that! And I love being so high in the air."

"Yep, I love it. What about you, Remus?" James looked around to find that Remus had already made himself at home on his bed. "OI! That's my bed!"

The boy lying on the bed lifted his head. "Got a problem with it? I'll move."

Shaking his head, James bounded over to the bed and hopped on it too. "Nope. So, flying?"

"Never flown a broom before." Remus said with a shrug.

"Never?" Sirius and James gasped dramatically.

Remus looked between the two boys. "Creepy."

The boys laughed. Sirius collapsed onto the bed with them. "This has been the most fun I've had in a long time."

"We have to hang out again, kay?" James told them.

Both boys nodded.

"Good, and next time, we have to pull a prank!" James announced.

"Prank?" Remus muttered while Sirius's eyes lit up.

"A prank?" Sirius asked excitedly. "I love pranks. It is so fun to pull them and cause chaos when my parents host dinner parties at the house!"

"Prank?" Remus muttered again.

James nodded in agreement. "They are really fun. I love pulling them on my neighbors. They never know what hits them."

"Pranks?" Remus asked again.

The two black haired boys shared a glance before turning to the only boy lying down. "Yes, Remus, pranks. You do know what those are, right?"

Remus nodded.

"Good!" James exclaimed. "At least you are that far. We'll teach you how to prank when we get together next time."

"Flying too." Sirius added, mock scowling at Remus. "Honestly, you don't fly or prank. What is it that you do?

Remus smiled almost shyly. He hated to admit what he liked doing because most people didn't want to hang out with him when they found out that he was bookworm. "Well, I like to read…."

Sirius gasped. "Oh, the horror! Not a book lover!"

Rolling his eyes at the dramatic antics, Remus reached back and grabbed James's pillow, which he tossed into Sirius's face. "Not just that. I like to explore too. There is a forest behind my house that I like to go into. I really enjoy exploring."

Sirius sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin for that! He's not a total bookworm."

"There is nothing wrong with liking to read." Remus huffed.

"Of course not." James said placated.

Remus nodded. "Thank you."

"But we're still going to make you learn to fly and prank with us." James continued, causing Remus to just roll his eyes. He would make friends with two crazy pranksters.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	3. Chapter 3: I Solemnly Swear

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**The Secrets of Friends **

**Chapter 3: I Solemnly Swear **

"Remus, can I come in?"

On the bed, a little boy of about ten was hugging a pillow to his chest and glaring out of the window. At the sound of his mother at the door, he redirected the glare to the door. "I guess." He muttered.

A sigh was heard from Maria before she pushed the door open. She frowned unhappily when she found her son glaring at her. It was never a parent's dream to have his/her child mad at him/her. The sound of the door clicking shut behind her sounded like it was magnified in the silence of the room.

Maria moved to the bed her son refused to move from and tentatively sat down. It was easy to face enemies as an Auror, but when it was family one was dealing with, it was always harder to do. "Now, Remus, dear, I understand that you are upset, but you really shouldn't have done that."

"It was just a prank." Remus retorted.

"You may believe that, but against Walburga, really? You know how she is. She can be extremely unpleasant and says nasty things about Muggle-borns, but that doesn't mean you can just destroy her dining room in the middle of a dinner party. Do you think Charlus, John, and I like getting howlers at work from her to tell us how two rowdy boys who were guests at her house ruined her party?" Maria scolded.

"But she was being so rude. Do you know that she was talking trash about muggle-borns and werewolves the whole time? Why doesn't anyone ever tell her to shut that big, fat mouth of hers?" Remus said angrily.

Maria frowned. "Remus, you are being rude. You should be happy that she let you and James go to her house to see Sirius at all."

"But it was completely prejudiced, and James and Sirius agreed with me!" Remus argued. "I can't believe she had to talk trash like that on Sirius's birthday! Couldn't she just be nice for once and not embarrass Sirius by talking about stuff like that?"

"Not everyone is going to have the same views as you, Remus. You have to understand this. Everyone is allowed their own opinions. Now, I agree that she shouldn't be talking like that on Sirius's birthday, but that does mean you are to retaliate with a prank that ruins the party." Maria said, trying to remain patient.

Remus huffed. "Sirius cheered up considerably when he saw it."

The Auror sighed and rubbed her head. "The day you became friends with those two boys, I swear. What happened to my good, obedient little boy?"

"He learned to have fun." Remus answered. "He's happy now."

Maria's anger seemed to deflate at her son's words. This time she frowned in worry. "Were you not happy before?" She moved closer to her son and brushed his bangs from his face.

"Mom, I had no friends and you and Dad were always working. No kids wanted to play with a kid who loves to read and you always left me with Mrs. Finn when you worked. How is that fun?" Remus asked bitterly.

"Oh, dear," Maria said regretfully. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because you guys were always tired." Remus muttered. "You would come home from work exhausted and just want to rest. On your days off, all you wanted to do was get the house cleaned or relax or do some shopping. Who was I to interrupt your time?"

"My son." Maria said instantly. She pulled her son into a hug. "You are my son, Remus. I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me." Her motherly side came out again as she started to run her fingers through his hair. "If you ever have a problem, all you got to do is talk to me. I'll always listen to you. No child should feel like he can't talk to his parents about a problem he is having. We are here to take care of you and help you with any problems you have."

"Promise you'll always listen when I need you?" Remus mumbled.

Smiling, Maria pulled away and looked down at her son. "I solemnly swear to be ready to listen to you."

"I solemnly swear to talk to you when I need to, instead of holding it all in." Remus responded, smiling slightly at his mother.

"Good." Maria kissed her son's forehead and stood up. As she was approaching the door to leave, she called over her shoulder, "Oh, by the way, you are grounded for a month."

"WHAT?" Remus screamed, jumping off his bed. "Mother! I was supposed to go to James's next week."

"You should of thought of that before you destroyed Walburga's kitchen." Maria replied simply before closing the door behind her.

Remus glared at the door for a moment before going over to his nightstand. He ripped the drawer open and shifted some papers around until he found the small black fabric pouch. From it, he pulled a small rectangular mirror. "Sirius Black, James Potter."

It took a moment, but the mirror showed James on half of the mirror and Sirius on the other half. James's father had made the mirrors for them when James turned ten. The original design was two-way mirrors, but since there were three of them, he made a set for three people.

"Hey Rems." Sirius greeted.

Remus scowled. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Oooh, hard question. I believe it was about a hundred times." Sirius responded.

"No, no, no, Sirius. You are mistaken. It has to have been at least a thousand times." James corrected.

"Maybe it was two thousand times." Sirius said thoughtfully.

James smirked. "Or maybe it was…"

"Both of you prats, shut it." Remus growled.

James and Sirius laughed. "Well, someone is grumpy." The latter said cheerfully before becoming solemn. "Did you get in trouble?"

"What do you think?" Remus grumbled.

"What happened? I got a lecture and have been banned from flying for two weeks." James said.

"Lecture and grounded for a month." Remus muttered sourly.

James and Sirius flinched.

"Sorry, mate. I keep forgetting how harsh your parents, especially your mom, are with punishments." James said guilty. The prank had been his idea and Remus agreed whole heartily with it because Sirius's mom had angered him. Since his parents were pretty lenient with punishments, James never cared about getting caught or having a problem with the pranks. Sirius didn't really care what his parents said. He always defied them anyway so their punishments never bother him. In fact, because of that, his punishment were sometimes forgotten or shortened, but for Remus the punishments were really strict. They were never shortened or forgotten, and he always got punished when he got caught. Nothing and nobody could stop him from being punished. Because of that, James's parents, more specifically his dad, sometimes 'forgot' to tell Remus's parents if he did something bad since they do have a sense of humor.

"Yeah, well I just thought I'd tell you I can't come over next week." Remus grumbled.

"I expected that." James said disappointed. Even knowing it was already coming, he was still highly disappointed. He found it best to always hold a little hope that Remus's parents would still hold to their plans, despite the punishment. It was good to be a bit optimistic. "Maybe some other time."

***Secrets of Friends***

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"

Scowling, Sirius looked up from the Quidditch magazine he was looking at. What could his _dear_ mother want now? Did she try her hardest to find something to punish him for all the time?

Tossing his magazine aside, Sirius got up and left his bedroom to face the wrath of a certain hag…no, wait, not a hag. That was an insult to all the hags out there. He was going to face the wrath of something worse than a hag.

"Yes mother?" He asked when he entered the kitchen.

"Why is your cousin's hair purple?" Walburga asked, trying to remain calm.

Sirius blinked and looked behind his mother to see a purple haired Bellatrix standing there. It was difficult to hide a smirk, but he managed somehow. She had it coming, in his opinion. He was tired of hearing her talk trash about muggle-borns all the time. "It was a prank." Sirius said simply when he saw his mother was getting impatient for an answer.

"You do not prank your family." Walburga hissed. "You should respect them. Is it not bad enough that you prank others, but now family? If you do not get your act together, Sirius Orion, you will not see those friends of yours again until you are shipped off to Hogwarts."

The eleven year frowned. He didn't want to be held back from seeing his friends. It would be a long eight months until he could see them again. Why did his mother have to be so commanding? "Of course, mother. I am sorry." Sirius said through clenched teeth. Why did he always have to bite his tongue? He just wanted to scream at her, but he knew he couldn't. Her threats were no joke.

"Apologize to your cousin."

Sirius felt his eye twitch, but he applied. He gave his cousin a short bow, but he kept his eyes locked on her. He did not trust her. "I deeply apologize for my prank, Bellatrix."

When he was dismissed, Sirius released a sigh of relief. That went better than he thought, but that was because they didn't knew it was muggle dye that he got from Remus. He could only imagine how they would have reacted if they knew he was using material made by muggles for some of his pranks.

***Secrets of Friends* **

"Can you believe it?" James said excitedly, jumping up and down on his bed with Sirius.

Remus looked up from the book he was reading that Mrs. Potter gave him since she thought he would like it. They had come over to James's house since it was birthday. His two friends were rowdy like always. He swore he was the only semi-mature one of them. "What?"

"We are all eleven now!" James explained, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Which means, soon, we will be going to Hogwarts! Just a few more months, men!"

Sirius immediately deflated and dropped down to sit on the bed. Noticing the change in attitude, James sat next to him, while Remus closed his bed and turned to face them as he was leaning against the bed before.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked. "I thought you really wanted to go to Hogwarts."

"I do." Sirius said.

James and Remus shared a confused glance.

"Then why are you all depressed all of a sudden?" James asked slowly.

Sirius didn't reply in favor of playing with his shirt sleeve. He kept trying to tug it down over his hand to avoid looking at his friends.

Sighing, Remus got up and sat on the other side of Sirius. The situation reminded him a bit of his conversations with his mom when he was being scolded. The only difference was that he wasn't going to get all mushy with Sirius and he wasn't scolding anyone. This is one of his best mates, after all.

"Sirius, do us all a favor and just spit whatever the hell is wrong out already. Don't make us get all mushy to get the secret out of you." Remus said, blunt as ever.

"My whole family has only ever been in Slytherin." Sirius said after a few moments of silence.

James blinked incredulously. "That's it? That is the big secret! Sheesh! And here I was expecting something better. You have let me down, Sirius! After getting me all wind up, and that is it?"

Sirius couldn't help but grin at his friend and his antics. James always knew how to cheer him up. Even so, he deflated a moment later. "Still, what if I'm put in Slytherin? Neither of you two will go there, I know that."

"Hmm, good point." James said jokingly. "And I don't want to be seen with a slimy git."

Almost in sync, Remus and Sirius both threw pillows at their friend. James gave a surprised sound when the first pillow hit him, then brought his hands up to his face to protect himself. "OI! You gits! Stop throwing those bloody pillows!" He screamed as he rolled off the bed in a feeble attempt to escape the onslaught from his so-called friends!

Once Remus and Sirius had deemed James severely enough beaten by pillows the two sat back down on the bed while their black haired friend sat on the floor covered in feathers. "Prats," He mumbled angrily.

Remus ignored him in favor of turning to Sirius, who he could tell was still upset over the thought of houses. "Listen, Sirius, don't let the thought of what house you'll be in worry you. We still got a few months before that. And besides, it won't matter to us what house you're in. We know you. We know you're not a slimy git so we're still be friends, no matter what houses we get into, right James?" He shot such a nasty glare at James that the boy would be a fool to not agree.

But it didn't matter; James was already nodding his head in agreement. "He's right, mate. Don't worry about that."

"Really?" Sirius asked, brightening somewhat.

Remus smiled. "I solemnly swear."

His words caused all worry Sirius had to disappear to be replaced by curiosity. "I solemnly swear? What is that?" He asked.

Remus blinked. He hadn't even realized he used the words his mom and him usually use when making a promise. "Oh, well, that is what my mom and I always say when we are making a promise to each other, though when we do that, we usually have to make a promise back. I solemnly swear that I will be your friend, no matter what house you get into."

"I solemnly swear to be your friend no matter what comes our way, Sirius." James added with a grin. "I solemnly swear? I really like it, Rems. Thanks for introducing it to me."

"Me too." Sirius said, smirking. "I solemnly swear to you two gits to be your friend no matter what."

**A/N: Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Protection: Failed or Success

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing! **

**The Secrets of Friends **

**Chapter 4: Protection: Failed or Success? **

Tossing the letter from Sirius aside, Remus Lupin, now eleven years old, got up from his bed to go over to his window. It was August eleventh. It was officially two weeks before he started school at Hogwarts. Both of his parents took the day off to be with him on this day. Actually, they have been doing that a lot lately. One day a month they would suddenly take a random day off. Some of their fellow Aurors would come over at night to stay with them. He didn't really understand why. It really made no sense and it happened once a month.

It all started four months ago after his father got a letter in the mail. Remus had watched him read it. He went real pale as he read it. He shoved the letter in his mother's hand. Like his dad, she went pale to and shot Remus a scared look. This just confused the boy even more. After that letter was received, John immediately left for the office while Maria stand back to keep an eye on Remus.

Now, whenever his parents took a day off and their coworkers came at night, he felt like his every move was watched. He wasn't allowed out of the house and an Auror had to be in the room with him while the others were talking in another room or outside doing something. It was quite creepy to him. It almost felt like he was being guarded from something, though he could not figure out why for the life of him.

Sighing, Remus left his room and ran down the stairs to the kitchen where his mom was getting ready to make dinner. Just a few months ago was his birthday. After having found out about his chocolate addiction, both boys sent him chocolate for his birthday, but that wasn't all. James added in a book about hexes, jinxes, and all type of spells that could be used in pranks. Sirius sent him Wet-start, no-heat fireworks. He was just happy they came while he was in his room so his mother didn't see them. His mom had an old wand in the house so when he could, he would take it and practice spells. He was getting quite good at some of them. And now since he had his own wand, the spells were coming a bit easier. It was a lot of fun. He couldn't wait till he actually got to learn at Hogwarts.

When he entered the kitchen, he found his mother stirring something in a pot. "Hey mom. Where is dad?"

Maria looked up to smile at her son. "He's outside dear."

Nodding his head, Remus sat down at the table. He was about to ask his mom when dinner was when he suddenly heard his father shout out a greeting to someone. Remus suppressed a groan. This was the same thing every month. Whenever his father shouted out a greeting like that, it meant an Auror or two had arrived

"Afternoon Maria, Remus."

Remus looked away from his mom to see his dad had come into the kitchen with Alastor Moody and his current protégé, Rose Lucky. Moody was a strict Auror, but he was really good at what he did. He was constantly shouting "CONSTANT VIGILANCE" as he believed people should never let their guards down. Rose was becoming a great Auror with all her training. She was really nice and cheerful though, so it was hard for him to believe she was going to be an Auror. She had shoulder length wavy red hair and bubbly blue eyes that were always so cheerful when they saw Remus.

"Hello." He said shortly.

"Oh!" Rose suddenly exclaimed, jumping over to the little boy. She suddenly grabbed the boy in a vicious hug. "I am so happy to see you again, little one!"

"Argh," Remus mumbled as he was being suffocated.

"Enough, Rose. We are not here for a visit." Moody growled.

Rose released the boy and turned to her trainer. "I know that, but it's still polite to greet them."

"It's nice to see you too, Rose." Remus said now that he could breathe.

Rose ruffled her hair. "Something smells delicious, Maria. What are you making?"

"Stew." Maria replied. "Will you both be joining us?"

"Yes please. I'm starving." Rose said excitedly.

Moody grumbled about easily distracted trainees.

Rose sat down at the table next to Remus and smiled at him. "So, little one, how are you this fine day?"

Remus grinned. "I'm great! I got my wand at long last, Rosy!"

"Really?" Rose asked, smiling brightly. "Attending Hogwarts soon, are you?"

The little boy nodded. "Just two more weeks until school starts! Is it fun there?"

"Oh, it is great fun, Remy! It was so much fun to explore that castle and try to find a secret passage." Rose said joyfully. She was shot a few frowns by the others so she added, "But don't forget all your studies. Do all your homework and listen to your teachers."

Remus had to hide a grin as she winked at him so Moody or his parents wouldn't notice. This is what he loved about Rose. She was just like an older sister to him.

Remus turned to look out the window to see that the sun was sinking. It would be night time soon. Since he was looking out the window, he didn't notice the worried look that Rose sent out the window. All the Aurors were aware of the mission to guard the Lupins' son. Each full moon they showed up to protect the Lupin boy all night in case Greyback showed up to get him. So far the threat hasn't appeared, but she thought that was his plan. He was trying to lure them into a false sense of security, except that wouldn't work. Not when the son he was after was the son of two well respected Aurors. Not when the son was the friend of the Head Auror's son. Not when Moody was one of the guards. Not when Rose was determined to protect this little boy. No werewolf was getting to little Remus Lupin.

Maria just started to fill bowls with the stew when they was a suddenly loud BANG resounding around the house.

All four Aurors were suddenly on their feet and pulling out their wands. Remus jumped a little at the noise and then seeing his parents and two Aurors pulling out wands got curious as to what was going on. He looked around the kitchen, but didn't see anything. It probably came from the front door, but Remus wasn't about to go check it out. Not when there were four wary Aurors pointing their wands at the entrance to the kitchen, though he noticed that Maria and Moody kept glancing at the back door of the kitchen that led to the backyard. He especially couldn't do anything when Rose, who was closest to him, grabbed his arm and pulled him behind her.

John looked out the window to see the sun was gone and the moon took its place.

With the moon risen, there were sudden yells, painful yells, filling the house….not just the house, but the whole vicinity. Remus was curious as to what was with the screaming, but he couldn't get anywhere, and to tell the truth, he didn't think he wanted to go anywhere. The yells were soon turning into vicious howls and growls. There was no way in hell he wanted to go to that!

"Mom?" Remus asked hesitantly. "What's going on?"

Maria didn't take her eyes off the entrance to the kitchen. She would not let those beasts get to her son. Her son's question worried her and she didn't want to answer, but her son needed to know what was coming so she answered in one word, "Werewolves."

The amber eyes spotted with blue widened. Why the hell had werewolves come to his house? He had always thought nothing bad of werewolves. They were still human. It was only on the night of the full moon that they were truly werewolves. They were supposed to lock themselves up so they couldn't harm others on the full moon….or that is what he would think if he was naïve. But he wasn't naïve. He knew that there were some werewolves out there that took _pleasure _in biting others to turn them into a werewolf. They were the werewolves that gave other werewolves a bad name. It was so horrible of them.

Did they come here to get more werewolves?

Remus could think no more as there were suddenly two werewolves running into the kitchen. The two of them looked like savage beasts. They were baring their fangs and sniffing the air as they smelled humans.

They didn't get too far as there were suddenly four spells flying at the werewolves. There was a bright flash of light that hurt Remus's eyes. He distinctly heard the sound of something heavy smashing in the ground followed by vicious snarls.

"No! Rose! Get Remus out of here!" Maria yelled.

Remus swerved to face his mother, breathing heavily in fear. His mother was trying to get rid of him. He knew it was for his safety, but he didn't want to leave his parents. If he left, he wouldn't know if they were alright…..if they were even alive.

But, it seemed that he didn't get a choice in the matter. Rose had suddenly grabbed ahold of his arm and was pulling him to the back door in the kitchen that led to the backyard.

"No! Rose! My parents!" Remus yelled frantically, looking over his shoulder at the three figures that were doing their best at holding back two vicious werewolves!

"Your safety is more important at the moment." Rose growled back. She was frantically looking around for any movement in case there was a third werewolf.

Safety? Remus looked at the backyard that they were in. They could either cross through other yards and lead the werewolves to other people or run into the forest. Neither sounded appealing. It just sounded like a horrible idea to go into a forest on a full moon with two werewolves hunting him down!

"Where are we going?" He asked worriedly.

"We need to get out of the wards so I can Apparate you away." Rose explained, briefly glancing down at him.

In that small moment, Remus caught the sight of a pair of gold orbs staring at them. Without thinking, he threw himself at Rose with all his weight to knock them both flying back into the ground. The Auror was shocked by this action, but she soon got her senses back when she saw the beast that was suddenly running to them. She wrapped an arm around Remus and raised her wand. "STUPEFY! FLIPENDO! STUPEFY!"

Remus was able to turn his head slightly to see the spells flying from Rose's wand. He didn't see if they hit, but he definitely heard the thump as it hit the ground.

Before he could react, Rose was on her feet. Since Remus was lying on her, he landed on the ground when she stood. He looked up at her with wide eyes. This was probably the only time he ever actually saw the cheerful redhead subdued like this this. He has never seen her so serious before.

Whatever she fired at apparently did not like being fired at as the creature suddenly was on its feet again and came bounding at them. He came charging straight at the two. Using the little bit of moonlight in the backyard, Remus saw that it was a third werewolf! Whatever these werewolves wanted, they sure as hell were determined if they were sending three of them!

Another jet of red light escaped from Rose's wand, but it only caused the werewolf in front of them to shake its head in irritation. It didn't even pause for a moment. The Auror continued firing the spells at it, but it either dodged or was unaffected by it. Just what were these werewolves? How strong were there?

Not only were they strong, but they were also really fast. It didn't take long for the creature to reach them. The werewolf reached them within a matter of seconds and was tackling Rose to the ground. Remus screamed out as he was pushed to the ground away from the creature by Rose. Rose held her ground, not releasing her wand. She tried to blast the werewolf off her as it clawed at her body to pin her down. Rose must have been powerful, because the powerful beast was having trouble getting her pinned to the ground.

Remus wanted to do something, anything to get the beast off of Rose, but he had no idea of what. He was just an eleven year old boy who didn't know any spells to fight off a werewolf! He only practiced jinxes and hexes. None of which would help him or Rose now! He desperately turned to the kitchen door which was still wide open in the hope that one of his parents or Moody would come help them, but to his horror, he saw them struggling with the two werewolves in there. It looked like they were on their own to deal with a werewolf.

A snarling sound brought Remus back to the problem in front of him. He whipped his head around to see that Rose managed to somehow blast the werewolf off her, but she wasn't in good shape. Her shoulders were all cut up and bleeding a lot. There was a huge gash in her neck. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull and sad.

"Remus," She whispered, eyes turning back to the werewolf in front of her. "You need to run."

"I can't." Remus snapped. "I can't just leave you! You'll die!"

Rose growled. "I'm as good as dead right now. I'll bleed to death before this night is over. GO! Now! I'll hold this beast off as long as I can, but you need to run now! Use that bloody wand you got in Diagon Alley to protect yourself as best you can." She snapped. "It's your only saving grace now."

That was the last thing she said to Remus before snapping her wrist up. "STUPEFY!" She screamed as loud as she could.

Remus watch in fascination as a jet of red light shot from her wand and hit the werewolf that just jumped at her directly in the chest. It was blasted back a bit by the force of the spell, but it was back on its feet in less than a minute.

"STUPEFY! FLIPENDO! FLIPENDO! STUPEFY! STUPEFY!" Rose yelled quickly to send multiple jets of light off in sequence. All of them hit the werewolf, but they didn't put him out of commission.

Those last few spells were all that Rose had left in her system. She has lost way too much blood. She collapsed to her knees and could only watch the werewolf she was tackling. Her arms hung limply in her hands. Her wand that she loved so much was held weakly in her hand. She was so tired. Losing all that blood has made her so sleepy. She just wanted to pass out.

The werewolf climbed back to his feet, but this time, the vicious creature's eyes found Remus's. Bright amber eyes could only stare in horror at the gold eyes of the beast in front of him. They were full of blood lust. As it looked at him, he swore a malicious smile crept onto his face, one that showed each of his fangs. This thing craves the pleasure of biting people. That was how cruel he was.

This werewolf has come to bite him or kill him! Remus took a few weak steps backwards. It was here for him. It all made sense now! Why his parents took one day off each month to be with him! Why Aurors would suddenly turn up before the sun set! Why he was forbidden to go outside at night one night a month! Everything was to protect him!

But why? Why would there be werewolves after him? What did he ever do to anger them? He doesn't even know any werewolves? And even if he did, he would never insult them! So why the hell were they after him?

This wasn't right!

The werewolf had suddenly lunged! It seemed to have gotten faster after having seen his prey.

Remus found his heart in his mouth. He has never been so scared in his life before! He always considered himself to be a brave boy, but now that he was actually facing something dangerous that wanted to kill him, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to die!

His heart was beating so rapidly that it felt like it was going to burst from his chest. He was shaking from head to foot when he found that beast suddenly charging for him to bite his throat out! Sweat ran down his brow while his breathing became more frantic. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't take his eyes off the beast coming for him. It was a probably a good thing. Constant vigilance and all, but he was only a little boy with no knowledge of magic that could protect him! The only defensive spell he knew was the Stupefy and Flipendo spell he heard Rose use.

That was it!

Remus frantically dug into his pocket. He was a smart boy and saw the spells at least four times. He was sure he could mimic them well enough. It was his only choice at this point in time. There was no way in hell he was turning his back on this beast to run away, and even if he did, he was sure it could catch him in a matter of seconds.

It was a miracle that he was so excited for school to start and to learn magic. If it wasn't for that, he was sure he would not even have his wand in his pocket at the moment. Just as he managed to extract it from his pocket, the werewolf was upon him, but, to his horror, so was Rose. With the last bit of strength she had left, she had jumped in front of Remus. Her wand hung limply in her hand.

"NO!" Remus screamed, desperately wanting to push her out of the way, but it was too late. The beast had landed on top of her and ripped her throat out. Rose's bright eyes caught his for the last time. There was a dull sadness filling them as they looked at Remus.

"Live." Rose whispered hoarsely to her little friend.

Remus barely heard it because of the vicious snarling coming from the beast on top of her. The beast was going to tear her body up at this rate and then come for him. There would be nothing left of her soon.

An intense anger overrode all the fear that Remus was feeling in his system. How dare this werewolf even consider tearing Rose into pieces after it had already killed her? They would be nothing left of her for her parents and friends to moan over at this rate.

There was no way in hell he would allow something like that.

The anger coursing through him caused Remus to grip his wand much tighter. Without realizing what he was doing, the boy was waving his wand furiously in the air and shouting, "STUPEFY! STUPEFY! STUPEFY! STUPEFY!"

The werewolf was sent flying through the air off of Rose. It landed a few feet away, giving Remus time to drop to Rose's side. His trembling hands brushed her hair out of face. To his horror he found lifeless eyes staring up at him. Her mouth was opened a little bit as if in a silent scream. The rest of his evaluation was cut short at the vicious snarl and trampling feet.

Remus's head snapped up to see the werewolf coming back for him. His hand scratched at the ground for his wand. He just managed to wrap his hand around two slim rods when he felt himself skidding across the ground with a heavy weight on top of him. The force of the blow caused the two wands he just managed to grab to go flying out of his hands.

There wasn't any time for Remus to groan or cry in pain. All he could do was stare in absolute horror at the werewolf's snarling face that was just a few inches from his. Even the horror of that could not keep him from being aware of the pain flaring in his shoulders where the werewolf's claws were pushing into him.

Fearing for his life, Remus struggled viciously under the beast, causing the claws to dig deeper into his injuries, but he paid that no heed. All he cared about was escaping from the beast that wished to bite him. He frantically kicked his legs at the beast in the hope that it would cause him to slacken his grip. But, seeing as he was a kid against a werewolf, it had no effect. A werewolf would not be bothered by a few kicks from a little kid.

_No! No! I can't like this happen! _Remus thought frantically. Instincts caused his eyes to move over to his dead friend. Her last words to him were to live. He couldn't let himself die here! She wanted him to live!

Remus's hands shot out and slammed into the chest of the werewolf. What he wanted to do was attempt to push the werewolf farther away from him. What he got, was much better. His hands glowed with a faint yellow light before the werewolf was suddenly blasted high into the air and off him.

Accidental magic at its finest!

Remus never gave it a thought though. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his shoulders and desperately looked for the wands in the dark. "Come on, come on. Where are you?" He whispered anxiously. "What was it?"

The little boy quickly racked his brain for the charm that he read about in his charm book. He doubted it would work, but he needed a saving grace!

"LUMOS!" Remus shouted as he suddenly remembered the charm to cause light. "LUMOS! Come on! LUMOS!"

As if by a miracle, two bright lights suddenly filled the dark backyard. Remus didn't waste this moment. He crawled quickly over to the two wands and grabbed them. He flipped over to land on his butt and pointed both wands at the charging werewolf. "STUPEFY!"

Two red jets hit the werewolf in the chest, but Remus didn't wait to see the result. He was already on his feet and running into a certain forest that he wanted to avoid before the spells even hit the werewolf.

His feet pounded heavily against the ground, and then, and only then, did he realize that he was barefoot. He spent the whole day inside so he never put any shoes on. And now, his feet were paying for it. They were hitting branches, stones, puddles, and who knows what else in this forest. It all hurt with how he kept slamming his feet into the ground to move faster and faster to escape, but he knew he couldn't stop. If he paused for even a moment, that werewolf would be upon him once again.

Being in a bloody forest in the middle of the night, while running away from a damn beast that wished harm upon him, was not the easiest thing in the world. It was dark so he couldn't see where he was going, first of all. He kept hitting things like logs or big rocks. His feet were going to be all bruised or broken at this rate. And secondly, having a werewolf on your tail, while running in the dark, did not exactly help with one's panic.

He ran and ran and ran, not giving a single thought to all the tree branches and leaves whacking at his sore body and face. His legs pumped heavily against the ground. Blood ran down his chest from the claw marks on his shoulders and chest. Blood ran down his legs from where the werewolves back legs had landed. He was covered in marks already. What would happen if he was bitten?

As he was running, he suddenly found himself hitting a log that came up to his ankle. This is what finally caused him to lose his balance and fall on his face over the log. He threw his arm out to catch himself, but in the blasted dark, he didn't notice a rock on the other side of the log. So when he heard and felt that sickening CRACK(!), it didn't take a genius to know that something in his arm had broken. Pain flared up in his arm, but through his adrenaline rush, Remus barely noticed it. All he could think about was the fact that the werewolf must be upon him by now.

Remus had just managed to turn himself onto his back, wands clutched tightly in his right hand while his left was clenched and held to his chest, when the werewolf pounced on him once again. This time Remus felt sharp claws scrape at his face.

This time, he couldn't hold the scream in. With all the strength he possessed in his small body, Remus struggled against the werewolf. He kicked his abused feet into the beast to no avail. His body twisted all around in a feeble attempt that the beast would loosen its grip on him.

In his frantic attempts to get free, he suddenly felt a sudden shortage of air around him. It felt like he was getting pulled towards something else, and before he knew it, he found himself blinking at the star filled sky. First of all, he was in a forest so he should not be able to see the sky. And secondly, what the hell happened to that bloody werewolf?

Confused, Remus sat up and saw that he was now in his backyard again. Just what the hell was going on?

"REMUS!"

At the sound of his name being yelled, Remus whipped his head around, which he found out was a horrible idea. A hiss escaped him. The pain from his injuries was finally catching up to his brain.

At last, as he saw the first rays of sunlight and his mother running towards him, he was able to black out without worry.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	5. Chapter 5: First Secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! **

**By the way, since I was bored, I changed my name to Crescent Marauder. **

**The Secrets of Friends **

**Chapter 5: First Secret **

"…..how is he….."

"…..no bite…severely wounded though….lost a lot of blood…."

"John?"

"…not good…bite…leg…."

A quiet moan escaped Remus's lips when he heard the bits of conversation interrupting his sleep. Couldn't they have any consideration for the injured and not talk when the injured are trying to sleep? Their conversation didn't even make any sense at all. It sounded like a couple of crazy people talking.

Grumbling about rude people, Remus pulled his blanket up over to his face and snuggled into his pillow. He was briefly aware of jolts of pain in his body, but they felt pretty numb so he was easily able to pass back out in less than a minute. If he had just opened his eyes once at the noise, he would have seen his mother and a Healer staring at his moving figure and the joy in his mother eyes when she saw her little boy talking.

***Secret of Friends***

_Midnight Attack on the Famed Lupin Aurors Pair  
By. Marline Saline_

_Fenrir Greyback is known all over the wizarding world. He is a werewolf that goes around and bites the children of parents who have offended him. After years of trying to catch him, he was finally caught a few months ago by Auror, John Lupin, and his team. Everyone believed that to be the end of his terror and that our children would once again be safe._

_It was not to be, though. On his way to his hearing at the Ministry, Greyback managed to escape from his guards. Upon his escape, he contacted the Auror who led the team that captured him, John Lupin. He threatened John Lupins's only son, Remus Lupin._

_Four months passed with no move from Fenrir Greyback or his army of werewolves. As an extra precaution Aurors guarded the Lupin household each full moon. The full moons passed with no trouble, until the fifth one right before Remus Lupin was to start Hogwarts._

_Three werewolves, one suspected of being Fenrir Greyback himself, ambushed the Lupin household right before the full moon was to rise. Alastor Moody, Rose Lucky, Maria Lupin, and John Lupin were in the house waiting for the werewolves as guards to Remus Lupin._

_With the attack beginning, Ms. Rose Lucky, a bright and courageous witch, was tasked with the job of getting the child out of the house where the werewolves had infiltrated. It was not as easy as it seemed. Outside in the backyard, a third werewolf waited for them and is where the young, new Auror met her death. She will be forever missed by her partners, friends, and family._

_Besides the untimely death of Ms. Rose Lucky, Auror John Lupin and Remus John Lupin were both severely injured in the attack. Both are being treated at St. Mungos for serious injuries from the attack. It is unknown if either of them were bitten. For John Lupin, it is unknown if he will survive. _

_As of now, all that is known is Auror Rose Lucky is dead, Auror John Lupin and Remus John Lupin have been injured, and that one of the werewolves that was involved in the attack has been killed while another was arrested. The third, assumed to be Fenrir Greyback, managed to escape._

Next to the article was a picture of an unconscious Remus with his mother kneeling to him and a few Healers around him. It was taken in Remus's backyard before he was able to be moved to St. Mungos. A second picture showed a person, most likely one of the werewolves, now as a human and being led away in handcuffs by Aurors.

James stared in horror at the article in the Daily Prophet. One of his best friends had been attack by werewolves! This…..this was unbelievable. He didn't know what to feel. Should he feel revulsion that his friend might now be a werewolf? Should he feel fear and pity for his friend who was attacked by werewolves? Should he feel anger that they would dare to attack Remus? Should he feel happiness at knowing this his friend was still alive?

He had no idea what to feel, so he just felt numb with shock. Though, there was one thing he knew that came with being raised by Charlus and Dorea Potter. He would not ever feel revulsion for Remus if he was bitten. They were friends, regardless of anything.

James could not stand staring at this article or the picture. He flipped it over and ran upstairs to his room. He had a letter to write to help with his feelings as his parents were both at work and couldn't help him with information. Both of them would have been great sources of information at this moment in time as his mother was a Healer at St. Mungo's and his father was Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic.

***Secrets of Friends***

In number 12 Grimmauld, Sirius Black was seeing the same article as one of his best friends, James Potter. When his mother had called him down to see the Daily Prophet, he had assumed it would be because of something stupid like Muggle-born getting arrested or something.

Unlike James though, his eyes were glued to the picture of the injured boy. He was their other best friend, Remus John Lupin, and he was covered in so many wounds. There was a puddle of blood around his tiny body. He was so pale and small in the picture. That vulnerable look did not fit Remus.

Unlike James though, he immediately knew what he wanted to feel.

Anger.

How dare those werewolves attack his best friend? How dare they try to, or did, bite him? Remus has never done anything to any of them. In fact, Remus has often told him and James that he was pro-werewolf, and the two boys had agreed that they agreed with Remus. He had argued his thoughts so well that they couldn't find it in themselves to disagree.

And now, now their friend was attacked by three of the creatures that he was all for helping. He just wanted to tear those beasts up. No one was allowed to injure his friend and get away with it, especially when it was Remus. He was witty, smart, sarcastic, fun, a bit mischievous and daring, but he was also a quiet bookworm at times who didn't always like defending himself to people he didn't know well, unless it was James and Sirius. He had admitted that he felt immediately comfortable with the boys, but they all figured it had something to do with the cat incident at their first meeting. Since he didn't always defend himself, James and Sirius took it upon themselves to defend him. He had a special place in their hearts. His quiet-at-times-nature to their always-boisterous-and-up-to-no-good-nature made them always want to take care of him. Though when that happened, Remus would jokingly point out that he was seventeen days older than James so he didn't need the overprotective act from him, and yet, James still took that role when it didn't fit the ages. He always stubbornly said it was only a couple weeks different.

***Secrets of Friends***

The next time that Remus awoke, he actually opened his eyes, but immediately closed them again. He would never understand why hospital rooms just had to be white. Didn't Healers realize that when a patient wakes up from a horrible attack or a coma or whatever it was they had wrong with them that they didn't want to wake up just to be blinded by the pristine white rooms and the bright lights? It just hurt their eyes terribly.

"Remus, dear?"

The soft, kind voice of his mother got Remus to open his eyes once more. His mother was now leaning over him with an anxious look in her eyes. "How are you, honey?"

Remus managed a weak smile as he shifted a bit on the uncomfortable bed. Why couldn't St. Mungo's have more comfy beds? Wasn't it bad that his limbs felt as heavy as lead and were achy like he just had a battle with one those muggle contraptions called a car? Now he had to deal a sore body that protested at every movement he made.

"M'fine." Remus muttered, looking around the room. Besides him, there were three other patients in this room. They were up and eating lunch. On the bed next to him was a boy, at least a few years older than him. When he noticed him looking, the boy smiled at him.

Despite herself, Maria smiled. "No, you're not."

Remus looked away from the boy to look at his mother and raised a brow. "If you know, why ask?"

"Being polite," Maria replied, gently ruffling her son's hair.

"Where's dad?" Remus asked, looking around as his mother's hand froze on his cheek.

When he didn't get a reply, Remus's eyes snapped back to his mother in fear. "Please, mom! He's not dead, is he? He's alright, right? I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, no, dear. He's not dead." Maria said calmly. Years of being an Auror have taught her great control of her emotions so she was able to keep from crying. "I'm sorry I led you to believe that. And what could you possibly have to be sorry for?"

Remus looked down at the bed sheets. His left hand rested on his leg. It was covered in bandages from the elbow to the palm of his hand. There was a bit of pain in it so he must have broken it, but the healers fixed it mostly. "Well, those werewolves were after me. It's all my fault that Rose is dead and Dad! Dad was injured because of me, wasn't he? It's all my fault! They wanted me! I'm sorry." He cried. Tears filled up in his eyes as he confessed all this. It was much harder to make a confession than he thought. Confessions caused everything to come spilling out.

The other three patients in the room tried to focus more on their lunch than the little boy and his mother. They all heard his story. How could they not when the Daily Prophet covered it all the time since they were getting new news each day?

"No, baby, no." Maria said, gently pulling her injured boy into a hug. "It's not your fault. They were after you, but that doesn't mean anything. Protecting the innocent is the job of Aurors. We all knew that before we signed up for the job. We were all there to protect you. You have nothing to be sorry for. None of us blame you for what happened."

"But, I just don't understand. Why were they after me?" Remus whispered. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, baby." Maria replied, brushing the bangs from Remus's sweaty forehead. "Never you. Do you remember Fenrir Greyback?"

Remus blinked confused. "Isn't he that horrible werewolf who goes around biting the kids of parents who offended him? I thought Dad arrested hi…oh."

Maria nodded sadly.

"Did he escape?" Remus asked quietly.

"Yes. He was being brought to the Ministry of Magic for his trial when he escaped." Maria explained.

Remus nodded, though he continued to look at his bandaged arm. He wondered if he should be slightly angry at his dad. After all, none of this would have happened if he didn't arrest Greyback. That thought was immediately thrown away. It didn't matter. After all, he was never bitten. It was now just a scary memory where he got a few cuts. That was it. It was over. He will admit to himself that he feels guilty about Rose though.

"Honey?"

"What is it, mother?" Remus asked dully.

"Please don't be angry at your father."

"Why would I? He was doing his job." Remus replied, and suddenly his heart felt a little bit lighter, but not by much. His father was just doing his job. Greyback needed to be put in Azkaban for all his crimes. His father couldn't be blamed.

"Dear, there is one more thing." Maria said worriedly.

Remus tilted his head to his mother to show he was listening. "Remus, dear, your father was….he was…..oh, Remus! He was bitten!" She exclaimed, but very quietly so none of the other patients in the room would hear her.

Those words were all he needed to hear for his eyes to snap back to his mother. "What? Is he okay? Where is he? How is he? Is he being taken good care of?"

"Oh, Remus, he is alive. It was close, but the healers think he will make it now. They weren't so sure when he was brought in." Maria began.

Her words caused Remus to blink. When he was brought in…? If they weren't sure to begin with, it would take a few days to know for sure that he would make it…..

"Mother, how long have I been sleeping?" Remus asked hesitantly.

"My little boy," Maria said, kissing his brow. "You've been in a coma for a week. You woke up briefly yesterday, but fell back asleep with a minute."

Remus gaped at her. "A-a-a week?"

Maria nodded. "Your injuries were serious. It's no surprise."

Remus's eyes dropped back down to his bandaged arm. "Why am I covered in bandages? They are so tight around my chest that I feel I might suffocate. Couldn't they have just done a few healing spells?"

"It's not that simple, Remus. Werewolves are dark creatures. The wounds from them can't be healed with magic because they are cursed injuries. They can be healed only a little bit. The rest has to heal on its own. I afraid it will take a while, dear. So when you go to Hogwarts, you'll have to visit the school nurse regularly to get your wounds checked." Maria explained softly.

"Oh," Remus muttered. "What about dad? Is he awake?"

Maria nodded. John, being older and stronger, managed to wake up from his coma two days ago. "Yes. He is upset over the idea of being a werewolf, but he is also glad that he was the one bitten and not you."

Remus flinched in guilt.

"No, Remus, no guilt. He would much prefer this over you being a werewolf. Though, he has asked you keep this a secret. It is a secret between us, Charlus, Dorea, and Alastor, understand?" Maria explained.

"Sort of. So James doesn't know, but his parents do? Why?" Remus asked a bit confused.

"Because Dorea is a healer here. She is the one taking care of John, so to answer your question earlier, he is getting good care. And Charlus knows because he is our boss. John was ready to resign since no one will employ a werewolf, but Charlus would have none of it. He is letting John keep his job, but it must be a secret. The public will be told that no one was bitten. That it was a miracle." Maria explained.

Remus nodded, but was a bit distracted when he heard footsteps. It sounded like they were getting louder. "I understand, but the public?"

Maria sighed. "An attack this big on the son of two famed Aurors with an Auror on guard duty getting killed cannot be hidden." When she saw her son flinch violently at the mention of Rose, she frowned in worry and guilt. "Please, Remus, no one blames you for Rose. This is a dangerous profession. Rose knew that when she signed up."

Remus was quiet for a moment, listening to the footsteps as they came to a stop near the room. "Still….."

"She would be proud of you." A voice interrupted.

Both mother and son whipped their heads to the door to the room where Alastor Moody was standing. Next to them, the boy from earlier looked shock that another famed Auror had come.

"Why would she? I didn't do anything special, except run." Remus muttered.

"You're wrong there, lad." Moody argued, coming farther into the room to reach Remus's bed. "Not many children in your position could do what you did. You managed to apparate yourself out of danger and used a lot of powerful accidental magic. Not only that, you managed to use Stupefy, which is a fifth year spell, to take on a werewolf and save Rose's body from being completely destroyed. Her family is grateful that at least her body was saved somewhat."

The boy next to Remus blinked in surprise. It was mentioned at one point that powerful accidental magic was used when the kid saved himself and that he saved an Auror's body for the family and friends to moan, but he didn't recall hearing about him using an actual spell especially one like stupefy.

"Knowing that and the fact that you used her wand so well, the family wants you to keep Rose's wand." Moody finished, pulling a wand out from his cloak. "It won't respond to anyone now, though. I guess it was really loyal to her."

Maria chuckled a little. "When the healers got you, they found you holding two wands. It was so hard for them to get you to release them. That alone took ten minutes." She smiled at her son. "How did you get her wand?"

Unable to help it, Remus's mind traveled back to that night. "When I got the werewolf off her, I dropped my wand so I could check her body. But when I heard the werewolf coming back, I scrambled for my wand and ended up picking hers up along with mine." He explained. "Though, it didn't help much as I was knocked backwards and lost my grip on them."

Maria couldn't help the horrified gasp that escaped her. This was her son after all. "How did you get out of that without getting bitten?"

"I managed to blast the werewolf off me with accidental magic. I started yelling Lumos in the hope that my wand would light up." Remus said.

"Did it light?" The boy in the bed next to him asked curiously.

Maria and Moody shot him frowns for eavesdropping, but Remus didn't care. He just smiled a little at the boy. It was hard for kids to hold in their curiosity so Remus was surprised he managed to last so long, but maybe it's because he was a bit older.

"Yeah, in fact, I lit both wands." Remus replied.

The boy gave a low, impressed whistle. "You must be a powerful wizard."

Remus chuckled. "Who knows?" He turned back to his mother. "So, I can still got to Hogwarts on September first, right?"

Maria nodded, glad her son was distracted. "You may. You won't be released from here for a few more days though."

Remus groaned. He always hated hospitals. They were always so boring!

"Be happy, Remus!" The boy said brightly. "At least you weren't bitten. If you were, I don't think you would be allowed to go to Hogwarts, and that would suck so close to your first year."

Remus blinked at the boy. He was right. That was the last full moon before school started. That would have been so horrible! Still, he wished his father wasn't bitten when he was the one they were after, but his mother was right. He couldn't feel guilt for this. He had to try to stay optimistic. Try being the key word.

He was distracted by his guilt when Moody handed him Rose's wand finally. Remus reached out for it. Just before his fingers touched it, he felt a sudden warmth entering his hand. He ignored it and wrapped his hand around the handle of the wand. The effect was amazing.

The moment he had the wand securely in his hand, a powerful wind picked up around him. Along with the wind was a bright light emitting from the wand that blinded all but Remus. As he looked at the light, he saw a ghost of Rose standing at the end of the bed and smiling at him. He heard her say, "It's yours now, little one. Take good care of that for me. Have a good life, and thanks for saving my body. It was nice knowing you, even if it was only for a short while. Good bye, Remus."

With her final parting words, the light and wind disappeared. Remus could only stare at the spot that he saw Rose at with tears in his eyes, while all the other occupants of the room stared at the little boy. How could someone so young produce such a powerful reaction?

"What was that?" Maria asked as no one else seemed able to.

Remus turned his eyes to her. "Rose was here. She said good bye."

Maria attempted a small smile at her son. "Your magic is amazing. You wanted to see her badly so when her wand was presented to you, your magic reacted to it as it was the last thing she put magic into before she died. She was able to give you her last parting words."

The shocked boy turned to look at the wand in his hands. Was something like that even possible? It just seemed so unreal.

His mother and Moody stayed a little longer for a few words before both left to go talk to John to tell him about his son waking up and to inform a healer of Remus's waking as well. When they were gone, Remus turned back to the boy. "Soooo," He started, looking for a distraction. "You know my name. I'm guessing it was all over the newspaper, but you never said your name."

The boy grinned. "Sorry, Remus. You're right. Your name is everywhere. I am Shawn Wood. I am going to be a fifth year this school year. I go to Hogwarts and am in Gryffindor. I am also the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Keeper for the team."

Remus raised a brow at the introduction. He didn't even get to ask any questions! "Well, Shawn, did you forget something in your introduction? I didn't hear the word Prefect in there." He said sarcastically.

Shawn laughed. "Sorry, not a Prefect. I'm not good enough for that."

"Hmm, well, why are you here?" Remus asked curiously.

Shawn raised a brow. "Nosy, aren't you?"

"And the public isn't?" Remus retorted. "They know my story."

"Fair point." Shawn said, smiling. "Alright, I'll tell you. I was practicing Quidditch with some of my friends. There was an accident with the Bludgers and me. I got a horrible concussion and was thrown into a coma, but mine was only for two days. I awoke a few hours ago."

"Well, that sounds like absolute fun!" Remus said sarcastically.

Shawn raised a brow. "Sarcastic much? And I would have thought you would think that was great fun compared to your adventure."

"Oh, it is tremendous fun, is it?" Remus muttered. "I had no idea that getting a concussion was that wonderful. Though, I will admit that I would rather have that accident than getting attacked by werewolves. That is one part that you have right."

Shawn chuckled a little before looking at Remus curiously. "Okay, enough about me. What about you? That was Auror Moody that came to visit you. He said you used a fifth year spell. Where did you learn that?"

"I watched Rose use it a few times against the werewolf that killed her." Remus admitted sadly. "In desperate moments, I guess one can learn anything. I desperately wanted to save her body so I mimed her actions and words."

"That is amazing!" Shawn said, though his words weren't that excited. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to watch someone that he cared about get mauled in front of him, and it was obvious that Remus cared for her. "A Ravenclaw maybe?"

Remus looked back at him confused. "What?"

"You must be intelligent and studious to learn that fast and quickly. I was thinking you might be a Ravenclaw, but we must also take in the fact that you tackled a werewolf to save Auror Rose's body and yourself so you may be a Gryffindor. After all, you got the honor, courage, and bravery down." Shawn explained. His eyes were taking in everything about Remus as he looked at the boy. "But you are also loyal. You went out of your way to protect Rose's body. You could have left the werewolf to maim her and escape, but your loyalty made you stay and save her body."

Remus gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Bravery? There was no bravery there. I was scared to death."

"Anyone would be scared, even Gryffindors." Shawn admitted softly. "That is not the brave part. The brave part is that you fought back. You fought the werewolf to save Rose's body. You fought the werewolf to save yourself. You didn't just stand there and let it bite you. You found your courage to use your wand. That is bravery, Remus."

"Maybe." Remus replied.

"You'll be a Hatstall for sure." Shawn added, grinning.

Remus stared at him. "Hatstall?"

"It's when your sorting takes more than five minutes. They are really rare." Shawn explained.

Remus blinked. "But why is it called a Hatstall?"

"Secret. How you get sorted it meant to be a secret until it happens. It's tradition."

Remus scowled at him.

"Anyway," Shawn continued on cheerfully. "There is one thing I know."

Remus raised a brow. "And that is?

"Your sorting is going to be one of the most anticipated. You have many qualities so it will be difficult to find where you go." Shawn answered. "Plus, your name won't be forgotten so easily. Hogwarts is a place for gossip."

Remus groaned.

"I keep everything I heard here a secret, including the part about your dad." Shawn said.

Remus's eyes snapped to Shawn's in shock. "What? You heard?"

Shawn nodded. "My bed is right next to yours. I heard everything. Don't worry. My lips are sealed. Gryffindor's honor!"

**A/N: Please Review! **


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